Title: Happily Ever After
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss Whedon.
Part 34
Jesse lay in bed staring through the darkness up at her ceiling. Her mothers had called the entire gang together and they had all split up and started searching for Soleil less than an hour after she was taken. Just before dark they came back to grab flashlights, and other essentials for night travel in Sunnydale likes stakes and crosses. Anya had been appointed to stay at the house and help Jesse and Alex with the kids. Plus Tara just felt better knowing there was an adult in the house in case Donnie went there. Jesse didn't really know who Donnie was. She had seen him before when she inadvertantly stumbled across a picture of him while looking through her Momma's boxes in the basement for one of her grandmother. When her Momma found her holding the picture of Donnie, she quickly took it, put it away and handed her one of her grandmother. She then told her not to go through that box again, but she of course had done so on many other occasions. That was how she recognized him immediately.
"Are you asleep?" Alex asked from his position in a sleeping bag on her bedroom floor.
"No," Jesse said. "You wanna come up and talk?"
"Sure," he said climbing out of the sleeping bag and sitting on the bed. "Do you think they'll find her?"
"I don't know," Jesse said. "This is all my fault."
"Don't say that," Alex said moving up beside his best friend and putting his arm around her.
"Why not? It is. I was there. I watched him take her, and I couldn't do anything. I'm supposed to keep her safe, Alex. I'm supposed to keep them all safe, and I failed. I stood there like a coward and didn't even try to stop him. I didn't yell, I didn't scream, I didn't do so much as blink... I couldn't... I was completely frozen.. until she was gone, with him, to God knows where. She's just a little kid, Alex, she's not going to know what to do... what kind of big sister does that make me?" Jesse said as tears began sliding down her cheeks.
"Jess, don't say that. What could you have done? Taken him on yourself? You did what anyone would have done in that situation, and most importantly you reacted quickly enough to get help. You're a wonderful big sister," Alex said.
"I just feel like I should have done something more," Jesse said dropping her head. "Buffy never would have let this happen to Dawn. How could I let someone steal my little sister?"
"You can't compare yourself to Buffy, she's different. She could teach Dawn all sorts of things that you don't know, like martial arts and stuff," Alex said. "I'm sure when Soleil is older you'll teach her all about living in Sunnydale, and you'll show her how to be safe."
"Oh my God, Alex!" Jesse said bolting out of the bed. "I know where she is, or where she'll go if she gets away."
"Come on let's go tell my mom," Alex said.
"No, they won't know where it is," Jesse said throwing her jacket on over her pajamas. "I have to go."
"This is a bad idea," Alex said.
"Look give me a ten minute head start and then you can tattle on me. Have your mom send everyone to the park, they can look for me at the edge of the woods," Jesse said hugging her best friend. "Ten minutes, okay?" Jesse said breaking the hug.
"Ten minutes," Alex repeated watching his best friend leave.
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"Are you going to kill me?" Soleil asked as she sat with her knees tucked up against her chest, on the floor of a cave. Donnie was a few feet away sitting on a rock and drinking heavily.
"No," he slurred.
"Then why am I here? I'm cold, and hungry, and tired, and I miss my Mommies," Soleil said.
"Just shut up," he snapped, throwing an empty bottle against the wall opposite Soleil, and shattering it.
"I think you're drinking too much," Soleil said as Donnie opened his second bottle of Jack Daniel's. "Once my Auntie Anya drinked too much and she told a funny story about her and Uncle Xander in costumes, and it wasn't even Halloween," Soleil said smiling. She wasn't that scared of the man anymore because he said he wouldn't kill her. She noticed he had eyes like her Momma's, only much darker. Her Momma's eyes were bright, and happy and made her feel safe.
"Don't you know what shut up means?" Donnie spat angrily.
"Yes, people tell me that all the time, mostly just Jesse, she says I talk more than Mommy. Do you know my Mommies?"
"Yeah."
"How do you know them?" Soleil asked. She had never seen this man before, and she knew all her Mommies' friends.
"Your 'mommy' is my sister," Donnie said.
"My Mommy doesn't have any brothers or sisters," Soleil stated.
"Yes she does, I'm her brother," Donnie said again this time more loudly.
"No, she doesn't," Soleil said. "She is the only child of Sheila and Ira Rosenberg."
"Your other mother," Donnie said annoyed.
"Oh, you mean Momma," Soleil said. "She doesn't have any family at all, just a Mom, but she died."
"Is that what she told you?" Donnie asked.
"No, Jesse told me," Soleil said. "So you do know my Mommie's?" Soleil said.
"Yeah, that's what I said."
"Then you know they'll be very angry at you," Soleil said, "and I think you should take me home to them, cause you're bloody sloshed," she said mimicking Giles.
"I said shut up," he said coming toward her. Soleil jumped up and smushed herself against the side of the cave, suddenly terrified that he might hurt her, or he changed his mind and was going to kill her, but Donnie was too drunk to do anything more than stumble and trip over something in his attempt to grab her, falling short and landing on his face.
Soleil looked at him on the ground in front of her and then to the right where the cave entrance was. She remembered Jesse telling her on one of their special walks what to do if someone ever took her, and one of those things was to run if you get the chance, so that's exactly what she did. She ran just as fast as her little four year old legs would take her. She didn't look behind her to see if the strange man was following her, she just ran. When she got out of the woods, she realized she was in the park. She remembered now exactly where she was supposed to go, the secret hiding place.
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Jesse ran all the way to the park. She knew that by know her mother's knew she had left and would be furious, but she had to find Soleil. She ran to the swings and then took a right towards the woods, where there was a row of overgrown bushes. When she was twelve and her mother's had enlightened her about what lurked in Sunnydale after dark she had dug a huge hole in those bushes, camouflaging the entrance and spreading holy water all around it. She didn't know why she did it, but it seemed like a good idea at the time. Now it seemed a little silly, but she showed all her younger siblings where it was, because if it came down to it, that stupid hole might be their only chance for survival. She crawled under the bushes and moved the branches away from the entrance.
"Soleil?" Jesse whispered.
"Jesse," Soleil said squirming her way up to the top of the hole.
"Oh, thank God," Jesse said as she knelt down, pulling Soleil the rest of the way out and looking for injuries. Other than being covered in dirt from the hole, she seemed fine. Jesse hugged her tightly and kissed her before asking, "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"
"I'm okay. I want my Mommies," Soleil said clinging to Jesse.
"We're going home right now," Jesse said crawling out of the bushes with Soleil crawling out behind her. As soon as they emerged Jesse took Soleil's hand.
"Are you now?" A male voice said.
"Soleil close your eyes," Jesse said momentarily ignoring the vampire in front of them, "Now I don't want to stake you in front of my little sister, but if I have to I will," Jesse said pulling a stake out of her coat pocket.
"That's very cute," the vampire said knocking the stake out of her hand. "Sounds like you've been hanging around with the slayer. Her and her snide remarks. She can't ever just stake you, she's gotta make you suffer through a little slayer sarcasm first."
"Are you talking about Aunt Buffy?" Jesse said shocking the vampire, "because if you like her stuff, you're gonna love this one," Jesse said just before the stake plunged into his heart from behind. "Thank you Mom," Jesse said. Willow had been teaching her how to control her levitating objects, and she was never more grateful for this than now.
"That man just blew up," Soleil said. "Where did he go?"
"Your eyes were supposed to be closed," Jesse said leading her sister into the park.
"And you're supposed to be home in bed," Willow said as she and Tara rushed over to their daughters. Tara scooped up Soleil in her arms and placed a million kisses on her head as Willow hugged Jesse tightly. Willow silently thanked the Goddess for keeping their children safe before turning to Soleil as she placed a million of her own kisses and hugs on her too. At that point, nothing was going to get Soleil out of Tara's arms.
"Oh, but happy ending," Jesse said hopefully as she joined in on the hugfest.
"Not quite," Donnie said staggering up behing them.
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~Spencer~
"Your
"Too bulky, I prefer my women in spandex."
-Xander- season two, Halloween
by deixs » Mon Nov 11, 2002 9:09 am 
the football game was funny. hope they find Donnie and kick his ass 
at: 11/11/02 8:38:40 pm
damn donnie 
Lookin' forward to seeing how they deal with Donnie.